Content
Currant Natalie is a mid-season variety that bears delicious red berries. It is grown throughout Russia. Natalie's currants are superior to many varieties in terms of sugar content in berries, yield and resistance to frost. To grow currants, choose a lighted place. Young plants are provided with nutrients that are added at planting. Below is a description of the variety, photos and reviews of Natalie's currants.
Characteristics of the variety
Natalie's currant was bred by Russian breeders. In 1985, currants entered variety testing. In 1991, the Natalie variety was included in the state register and recommended for cultivation in the Central, Northwestern regions, the Volga region, the North Caucasus, the Urals and the Far East.
Description of the Natalie variety:
- average ripening time;
- high self-fertility;
- vigorous wide bush;
- powerful straight shoots up to 2 m long;
- large dark green leaves;
- the leaf blade is leathery, slightly concave;
- brushes 13 mm long, contain about 10 berries.
Features of Natalie variety berries:
- the average size;
- weight 0.6 g;
- round shape;
- sweet taste;
- bright red color;
- medium-sized drupes.
With good care, the yield per bush reaches 8-12 kilograms of berries. Natalie currants have universal application. The berries are consumed fresh, frozen, used for baking, vitamin cocktails, and processed into jam, jelly, and compote.
Landing Features
Red currants are unpretentious when choosing a growing location. It is enough for the bushes to receive good lighting to produce a high yield. Before starting work, quality seedlings are selected and the soil is prepared.
Site preparation
Red currant Natalie is planted in the fall in September or in the spring in mid-April. The culture is photophilous; a well-lit place is selected for it on the south side of the site. The bushes are planted on the western or southwestern side, then the plant will also receive the necessary lighting.
Currants grow on chernozem or forest soils with a high humus content. Loamy soil is suitable for growing.
Bushes grow best on slopes, where there is protection from the wind and there is no stagnation of moisture. In case of high acidity, liming of the soil is carried out. The distance from buildings and fruit trees is more than 3 m.
Currant propagation
Strong currant seedlings with a powerful root system are suitable for planting. All leaves are removed from the plants, and the roots are placed in clean water for a day.
If you have a Natalie currant bush, you can get planting material yourself. In the spring, strong shoots are selected and buried, leaving the top above the ground. In the fall, when the cuttings take root, they are separated from the main bush and transplanted to a permanent place.
At currant transplantation you can divide the bush and get new seedlings. The cut areas are sprinkled with crushed coal.When dividing, you need to make sure that each seedling has several strong roots.
Another way to propagate red currants is by cuttings. In autumn, the required number of cuttings, 15 cm long, are cut from the bush. They are rooted for 2-3 months in moistened sand at a temperature of +2 °C. Then the cuttings are stored in the cellar until spring or buried in the snow.
Work order
Planting Natalie's red currants begins with preparing a hole. Then you need to wait until the soil settles, and only after that start planting bushes.
Procedure for planting red currants:
- First, dig a hole 40 cm deep and 50 cm in diameter. If you need to plant more than 2 bushes, leave 1.5 m between them.
- Add 8 kg of compost, 0.2 kg of superphosphate and 50 g of wood ash to the fertile soil.
- Pour half of the resulting substrate into the hole.
- Once the soil has settled, add a small mound of earth into the hole.
- Place the seedling on the hill, straighten its roots. Deepen the root collar by 5 cm to stimulate the formation of new roots and shoots.
- Cover the roots with soil and compact it.
- Water the plant thoroughly. To do this, make a circular furrow at a distance of 20 cm from the currant.
- Trim the shoots to a height of 15 cm, leaving 3 buds.
Water the seedling twice a week. To keep the soil moist, mulch it with humus or peat.
Variety care
According to reviews, Natalie's currants produce a stable harvest with constant care. The bushes are watered and fed. In winter, plants are pruned to properly form a bush. Preventive treatments help avoid the spread of diseases and pests.
Watering
To activate the growth of currant shoots after winter, before the buds open, it is watered with water at a temperature of 80 ° C.The Natalie variety is sensitive to lack of moisture, especially in early spring. If you do not water the bushes in a dry spring, the ovaries will fall off. The remaining berries become smaller.
The intensity of moisture application depends on weather conditions. It is important to prevent the soil from drying out and forming a crust on its surface. From the beginning of June, when the ovaries form, until the beginning of August, when the berries ripen, currants are watered with warm, settled water.
After watering, the soil should get wet by 30 cm. Then the soil is loosened so that the plant roots have access to oxygen and can better absorb moisture.
Mulching the soil helps reduce the intensity of watering. 8 kg of rotted manure is applied under each bush.
After leaf fall, currants are watered abundantly. The procedure is preparation for winter. Moistened soil freezes worse, which protects plants from the cold.
Feeding
Fertilizer application ensures the development of new shoots and the formation of a crop. In April, 10 g of urea is planted into the soil to a depth of 30 cm. Fertilizer saturates plants with nitrogen, which stimulates the growth of green mass.
In June, nitrogen fertilization is repeated, but organic matter is used. Add 0.3 liters of bird droppings or mullein to 5 liters of water. The resulting solution is watered at the roots of the bushes.
In summer, Natalie's currants are processed leaf by leaf. For feeding, prepare a complex fertilizer containing 2 g of boric acid and 5 g of manganese sulfate per 5 liters of water.
In the fall, after fruiting ends, Natalie's currant bushes need additional feeding. When digging the soil, add 5 kg of compost and 200 g of wood ash. Instead of organic matter, you can add 100 g of superphosphate and 50 g of potassium salt to the soil.
Trimming
Red currant Natalie is pruned in spring and autumn during the dormant period. The procedure helps to rejuvenate the bush and increase productivity.
In red currants, fruit buds are located at the tips of the shoots. Therefore, short pruning of branches has a negative effect on fruiting.
Every 5 years, cut off excess branches that thicken the bush. A total of 15-20 shoots are left. Be sure to remove dry and frozen branches.
The fruiting period of currant shoots is 6-8 years. To get a stable harvest, old shoots are periodically cut out.
Protection from diseases and pests
Natalie's currant is resistant to powdery mildew. Resistance to anthracnose is rated at medium level. To protect against diseases, bushes are sprayed with fungicides in early spring before buds open. Repeated treatment is carried out in the fall after harvesting the berries.
The drugs Fundazol, Captan, Oxychom are effective against diseases. If the lesion spreads during the growing season, then chemicals are used with caution. All treatments are stopped 3 weeks before harvest.
The Natalie variety is rarely affected by gall aphids, but can suffer from moths, caterpillars, and spider mites. Insecticides Aktara, Tedion, Kabofos are used against pests. Treatments are carried out before the beginning of the growing season and repeated in late autumn.
Reviews from gardeners
Conclusion
Red currant Natalie is a productive variety that can tolerate various weather conditions. To obtain a high yield, currants are provided with regular care. Be sure to water the bushes and apply fertilizer. Pruning shoots allows you to prolong the fruiting of bushes. For preventive purposes, plantings are treated against diseases and pests with special preparations.
